The present invention concerns an accessory for the combined presentation of at least two items, in particular two items for cosmetic use. The items may be two separate distinct products, or the two items may include a product and an accessory which is adapted for application of the product.
This provides advantages especially in the field of make-up due to the increasing sophistication of the make-up art, which often involves the use of two complementary products to be applied separately.
This is the case, for example, with lipsticks, wherein a first product may provide the color and a second so-called “finishing” product provides, if necessary, the gloss or hold-fast properties for the first product. An example of other make-up products that may require separate applications of elements is cosmetics for the eyes and the nails, where one of the products may be a make-up foundation and the other product may be the so-called make-up proper.
In the case of the above-mentioned two complementary products, as well as others, it is therefore convenient to have two packagings that must be able to be available either simultaneously or independently of one another according to the habits and needs of the consumer.
However, there is an underlying problem of trying to produce a device that selectively allows either of two products to be had in a combined manner, so as to be available at any time, or have two products separate, in particular, when the consumer so desires to only have one within their person.
In the case of the second option, an additional problem may arise. On the one hand, if an additional device is used to unify the two products, care must be taken so that the additional device is not lost when the two items are separated from one another, and/or from the additional device. On the other hand, the additional device, while it remains unified with only one of the two products, must not interfere with the use of the product and should not noticeably increase its dimensions.
For example, in the area of food, devices are known that allow the combination of two or more items in the form of packs, i.e., with bottles of water or milk. When one or more bottles are removed from the pack, the “unoccupied” portions of the loop cause an unnecessary increase in dimensions. Similar examples exist in the prior art; however, many of those examples suffer from the same drawback.
Additional prior art references describe structures that have a functional use solely when in planar configuration, where a set of loops cannot be superimposed upon each other. For example, some references describe systems having a flexible strap terminating with two loops intended to form a handle for the combined transport of two bottles. The securing of one bottle relative to the other is achieved by making the flexible strap into a double loop similar to a figure 8 and inserting the neck of each of the bottles inside one of the sections of the figure 8 loop.
A disadvantage of such a configuration results from the fact that the assembly of the two bottles by means of such a flexible strap, by virtue of the complexity of the required manipulation, can be difficult to perform in an automated manner. Furthermore, following removal of one of the bottles, the strap cannot remain integral with the other bottle and the strap runs the risk of being lost.
Still, yet other prior art references describe systems having at least two loops connected together by a flexible grab handle. Each loop has a circular hole allowing an item to be retained securely therein. But these devices pose a problem because as a result of the means of retention arranged around the inner periphery of these holes, flexibility is reduced or even eliminated. Also, it is difficult to completely remove and then replace the items in their holes and this may take several attempts. Moreover, in order to remove an item from its hole, it is necessary to slide it along the entire length of the handle through the hole. This rules out being able to retain items in such holes that are not necessarily cylindrical.
So, one of the objects of the present invention is to create a device that allows a full or partial solution to the problems discussed above with regard to conventional devices.
A particular object of the present invention is to create a device that allows the combined presentation of at least two products. The present invention further contemplates that when the two items are separated from one another, the device may remain integral with any one of the products without unduly increasing the dimensions of the product it is integral with, as well as not interfering with the use of the product.
Another object of the present invention is to create such a device that is simple to use and economical to create.
The device according to the present invention solves the above problems by offering a retaining element that holds the items by latching. The retaining element may be in the form of a squeezing device. The squeezing device may be formed by two arms that are able to deform elastically and have an internal periphery that is complementary to the articles that can be retained by it. For example, these arms may be arranged in an arc or a circle and the squeezing device may form an open loop as viewed from above.
Further objects will be described in greater detail in the detailed description that follows.